Universal Suffrage or the Scum Uppermost!!, George Cruikshank, July 1819

This hand coloured engraving by george cruikshank was printed by george humphrey one month before the peterloo massacre. The print shows a representation of ‘radical reform’, shown to be nothing less than ‘revolution’. The monster at the top of the design is typical of cruikshank’s grotesque creations. It triumphs over the arts, royalty and religion and is designed to warn people of the fatal consequences political reform might have on cherished british institutions. It also demonstrates the strength of feeling for reform by the working class at that time. Date: July 1819.